The wolf and the hunter
by Scaretale
Summary: In order to get this new wave of crime under control, the bats double their efforts. Unfortunately, the man behind it all knows too much about Batman and when Tim suddenly disappears, Nightwing has no choice: he has to ally himself with the man he fought for the mantle of the Bat just long enough to find Red Robin before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1

**The wolf and the hunter, chapter 1**

I have a lot of work to do, so it will take some time before I upload the next chapter,  
but I'll do my best.  
Meanwhile, I hope you'll enjoy this first chapter :D

* * *

The steam from the shower filled the room, the thick cloud that cloaked the window and lights dampening the clean towels and clothes on the racks. The young man finished drying his hair, letting the towel drop to the floor afterwards. The dull slap of wet fabric and the faint sound of his feet were barely audible as he walked up to the mirror. For a moment he just stood there, leaning forward, resting the palm of his hand against the cold glass.

He wiped it clear with a sharp gesture and his reflection appeared before him. His own hard blue-green eyes glared back at him, the very same eyes that always promised a death as merciless to anyone looking too deep into them as the one the raging seas promised lost sailors. They seemed to tell a wordless story, the story of someone who never knew peace and had grown up too fast.

_At first there was the crowbar. Just the sight of it sent the ice-cold shiver of dread running through his body, but it paled in comparison to when metal hit flesh. Veins spew blood underneath the skin, bone cracked. Being stripped down to such a defenseless and vulnerable state or the madman's laughter. He did not know which was worse as his blood finally flowed free and painted the clown's clothes red. The sight of it made him sick, made him wish that the crowbar's next hit would cave his skull in and put him out of his misery. Bruce wouldn't be there to save him from his own mistakes this time. He just wished that he could be spared this pain, this disgrace._

A drop of water fell from the badly dried hair to land on his bare shoulder, rolling down hard muscle.

_He'd made his share of bad decisions. Some of them combined with shitty luck had landed him in prison once or twice already but it didn't bother him. He would just break and kill his way out like the last time and the time before that. This particular prison was just another corrupt tentacle of the dictatorial octopus that was this small war-suffering southern country. Here were crooks, dealers of both arms and drugs, thieves but also normal people who had done nothing more than being unlucky enough to piss off some self-important 'policeman'. Here were no codes of conduct. Those in charge of the enforcement just made up new laws as they pleased, as easily and often as they breathed. _

_Most inmates were part of gangs, it was safer that way. Lone wolves had the sad tendency of ending up beaten or dead. In the end, the only difference between the guards and the inmates was that some were on the inside of the cage while others were on the outside._

The drop reached his elbow. Strong fingers tightened around the edge of the sink and lips pressed hard together.

_If the arm pressing at the back of his neck pushed any harder it was sure to break it. The floor was cold against his cheek and he felt the heavy weight on his lower back shift. Stale breath reached his nose._

_''You shouldn't have refused their offers to join them, you know. You definitely could use some friends right now.''_

_The weight lifted itself off of him for an instant._

_''Turn him around. I want to see his face.''_

_He felt two pairs of hands move over his arms, flipping him over to his back and pinning him spread-eagle to the floor again. Refusing to give them the satisfaction of reading the growing fear in his eyes, he snapped his head to the side. Fingers gripped the collar of his shirt, twisting the worn fabric. _

_''There is only one way to make a mad dog obedient. It needs to be taught its place, forcefully if necessary.''_

_A hard yank ripped his shirt in half at the middle, showering them all with buttons. One hand let go of the ruined garment and tightened around its victim's jaw while the other rested on his hip. From the corner of his eye, he could discern a small red blinking light._

_Sick bastards._

_''You will look at me when I break you.''_

The drop slipped off his wrist. Just as it silently hit the floor his fist rammed into the mirror, exploding it into millions of razor-sharp shards of reddened glass.


	2. Chapter 2

**The wolf and the hunter, chapter 2  
**Sorry for the long wait, but like I said, lots of work this semester! Yes, this is indeed the story described in the summary, but it'll take a couple of chapters before it gets that far. Meanwhile, enjoy this second chapter!

* * *

Dick dropped his duffel bag down on the kitchen floor, slung his dark blue police jacket over the back of a chair. He took a couple of steps into an apartment that would have seemed lifeless if not for the distant typing sounds coming from the bedroom. The owner of the apartment had heard him come in the front door, and the voice of a young woman shouted:

''I'll just finish up this paper and I'll be right with you!''

Dick left the kitchen, crossed the vast living room to arrive to the bedroom. At a desk, seated in front of a computer, was his girlfriend Gina. Her back to him, she ran her fingers over the keys of her keyboard, the text appearing just as fast on the screen. He approached her without a word, his already quiet footsteps muffled to nothing by the thick carpet and suddenly grabbed the armrests of the chair on each side of her. She jumped, startled.

''Good God!''

Gina turned to him, not so amused by having the living daylights scared out of her. A smile still appeared on her freckled face, and even though she gave his forearm a quick slap, she could not manage getting angry at that grinning idiot.

''How many times must I tell you not to sneak up on me?''

Deep blue eyes held her brown ones.

''I think you secretly hope that I'll do it more often.'' He replied.

Gina narrowed her eyes in a playful 'I'm keeping an eye on you' -manner.

''You're not getting away that easily, my friend.''

Dick grinned even wider and attempted to pick her up from the chair and into his arms.

''Waitwaitwait!'' She complained. ''I need to finish this!''

''You've been at it the whole day. Now _I_ require some attention.''

He lifted her up bridal style. She stopped wriggling to throw her arms behind his neck, sliding her hands into his longish black hair, tugging lightly at the dark strands. Their lips met, softly at first as if they tested eachother, like they weren't quite sure of where the other's limits went. Sure, they had done a lot more than just kissing before but they were still new to eachother, and Dick always let Gina take the lead in the beginning, not wanting to startle her or make her feel like she had to do things she didn't want to.

She intensified the kiss by tightening her grip around him, pressing herself up against his chest. Damn, he felt good. His whole being gave off an aura of power and elegance, and she often wondered how a guy like him had ended up with a girl like her. There was no doubt that he could get any girl he wanted, his supple yet strong body ripped with muscle and wonderful blue eyes being undeniably attractive assets. Gina, on the other hand, was nowhere that close to perfect beauty. She was petite, barely 5'3'', looking rather ordinary. Her face had too many freckles for her own taste, her red hair was hard to tame and her rack was nothing to write home about. She also found her own eye color boring and her nose slightly too big.

Gina really didn't understand how Dick could like her enough to become her boyfriend but she sure wasn't complaining. She had been surprised by how kind he was, for most of the handsome guys she had met took what they wanted from one girl before jumping to the next. She knew all too well. It was clear from the way Dick kissed that he had quite a lot of experience, but he never spoke of his ex-girlfriends when he was in her company, nor did he ever compare her to them.

Whenever Dick was with her, she felt that she had his whole attention, that he was hers fully. They had only been together for a very short time, but Gina already thought that he might be the one she'd like to grow old with.

She let go of him so he could set her down on the bed, grabbing the front of his shirt immediately after her back touched the mattress, dragging him down over her. He followed easily and passed an arm behind her waist, holding her tightly against him while he kissed her again. God, was he beautiful.

* * *

Someone knocked twice at the front door. Intrigued because she wasn't expecting any visitors, Gina went to open. Dick had left early that morning and he had his own key to her place, so this could not be him. A hand on the door handle, she wondered if she was going to let this someone in. She had been on her way to the shower, the sweat from last night still clinging to her body. Dick knew how to keep a girl busy, she gave him that. Nevertheless, she poked her head out, finding a guy dressed in blue overalls and a matching cap standing on the door mat, holding a large tool box.

''Morning, miss!'' He greeted cheerfully. ''I'm here to check on the water pipes.''

Seeing confusion appearing on her face, his smile dropped.

''Oh. I see that your landlord hasn't notified you. We check the pipes annually to make sure that every thing's all right and to avoid water damage before the accidents actually happen. But no matter, I can come back later if now is inconvenient for you.''

Gina did not feel like sending the guy away since he already was here and opened the door wide to let him in. Her shower could wait.

''By all means. Come in.''

''Much obliged, miss. You have no idea how much easier it is for me to get all the maintenance done in one go than having to leave and come back another day.''

He found the kitchen and opened the cabinet under the sink. After having set aside the detergent and bleach bottles, he took a wrench out of his tool box and tapped it lightly against some pipes leading away from the water tank.

''Look here, miss.'' He said, obviously having found something. '' Your landlord is right to have everything checked out regularly. There's a cracked piece here that I will have to replace. If it'd broken completely, you would've gotten water all over your floor.''

Unable to see what he tried to show her from where she stood, Gina approached and got down on all fours to stick her head under the sink, looking at the area at which he pointed. She didn't realize her mistake before the wrench slammed into the back of her skull.

* * *

When Gina regained consciousness, it was with one hell of a headache. The damn bastard had hit hard. Blinking a couple of times, the young woman tried to rid herself of the white spots that danced before her hurting eyes. It took her a while to realize the position she was in. A dirty rag was tied around the lower half of her face, muffling her every sound. She tried to lift a hand to the throbbing lump she knew must be forming on the back of her head but her arm did not respond.

She lowered her gaze and saw that her wrists were fastened with duct tape to the chair in which she sat, and a second look made her aware that her ankles had suffered the same fate, taped to the chair's legs. Cold sweat started to dampen the back of her shirt. This was definitely not good. She couldn't move to defend herself, she couldn't scream for help. Who the hell hated her enough to do this?

As she raked her mind trying to remember anybody that could hold such a grudge against her, she let her eyes travel around, scanning her surroundings. The place was a large, almost empty construction built with corrugated iron sheets, a sort of warehouse. The high roof was held up by a network of iron beams, and from between the beams hung a long electric cord that held a crappy naked light bulb about four feet above her head. Said light bulb cast a yellow light that still was strong enough to hurt her eyes and pancaked her shadow over the crude concrete floor.

Gina tensed up. Had she just heard the sound of footsteps? She listened. She heard footsteps indeed, growing louder by the second as a person approached. A metal door opened somewhere behind her and the footsteps came closer until the person stopped right in her blind spot, the shadow of a man joining hers on the floor. Fingers undid the knot of the gag, granting her speech. She took a large lungful of air, not aware that she had been holding her breath when she listened.

She kept her eyes fixed upon her own shadow as the man came around to stand in front of her.

"What do you want with me?" She asked, struggling to keep her voice steady as the fake plumber's face came into sight.

A chuckle rumbled in his throat and he covered her taped hand with his.

"Don't take it personally. It's your boyfriend I want."

"Dick?" Her brow furrowed. "What business could you possibly have with him?"

Dick was a police officer. Could it be that he'd made enemies that were now coming for him?

In the light of the bulb she clearly saw the malice that glittered in her captor's eyes.

"Well, what do you know." He sing-sang in a sickening sweet voice. "He never told you."

"Told me what?" She snapped, annoyed by his game.

"Blüdhaven has a bad case of what my boss likes to call 'an infection of roof-rats'. Vigilantes."

Gina snorted:

"And you think that he might be one of them? I've never heard anything so ridic…"

She interrupted her own sentence. What did she really know about Dick? To be fair, she actually knew very little. And there was that moment a couple of weeks ago, when she had waited for him at his apartment and had decided to do his laundry for him. As she was putting freshly cleaned and dried clothes in place in the closet, a glint of black and blue had caught her eye.

Curious, she had taken the garment out to take a closer look at it. At first she'd thought it was a circus suit, as she knew that Dick had been a performer and helped out at an old friend's circus when he was needed. But she was rather certain that acrobats did not wear Kevlar. Then she had heard the key move in the lock and the front door swinging open, and had hurried to put the black and blue suit back in place. Then she had simply forgotten it.

Gina bit her lip and a grin spread on the fake plumber's face when he saw the wheels spinning in her head.

"You see? Now he'll be rushing here to save his sweetheart, and I'm ready for him."

His hand squeezed her immobilized one and she was suddenly aware of the gun holstered at his hip when he stood up. He cast a glance at his watch:

"He's late, though."

"Was it a good idea to remove the gag?" She asked, sticking her chin out in defiance. "If I scream and he hears it, he will come to kick your ass."

She wasn't so sure of what she affirmed. She had no idea of how good a fighter Dick was, although judging from the musculature he possessed, he should be able to pack quite a punch.

"You'll scream you say?"

People used to say that the eyes were windows to the soul, and in that moment, his brought his madness to the surface. The blade of the slim knife he held jumped in sight as he pressed the button that released it, steel catching the yellow light like a murderous diamond. Wild and crazy, his eyes bore into hers.

"I'm counting on it."

When the razor-sharp steel broke her skin to dive into the pool of red underneath, she did just what he wanted her to do. She screamed like she never had before.

* * *

"Come on. You're not gonna take a nap _now_, are you?"

How she wanted to tear her head away from his touch, but his hand held her chin in a tight grip. To be honest, she didn't even have the strength to move. She barely could think straight. Her clothes felt sticky and moist, glued to her skin by sweat and blood. For twenty minutes he had been taking the knife at her, slow and thorough, careful not to slash too much at anything major, prolonging her pain like the fucking sadist that he was.

Deep cuts littered her face, arms and torso, and both her legs had been stabbed twice, rending them useless should she come loose and attempt to run. If she ever came out of this alive, her mirror would be a daily reminder of this night, the bloody gashes too deep to disappear without leaving large ugly scars or without expensive surgery she never would afford.

In the beginning she had screamed and cried, and the sorer her throat became, the more she tired. Now, her head hang limply, her chin resting against her chest. Few were the inches of her body that weren't covered with red.

The fake plumber sat on the concrete floor, playing with the bloody knife in his hand. Muttering to himself, he looked impatient. His impatience turned to irritation after a few minutes and he turned to his maimed victim, the young woman he had bled as simply as if he'd been tapping a maple tree for its syrup.

"I'm starting to think that this boyfriend of yours isn't coming," he said flatly, his eyes gone back to normal, "and that's really disappointing. I, who was ready for him and everything."

Suddenly, a deafening _BANG_ echoed through the place. The iron exit door sprung off its hinges to fly a good seven feet into the warehouse, scraping horribly against the floor when it landed. It had almost been bended in half by a violent kick, and the one who had treated it so mercilessly stepped forward to the door frame, heavy steel-toed boots hard against the concrete.

"Dick got held up," the newcomer said, his voice sounding oddly metallic, "so I'm filling in for him."


	3. Chapter 3

**The wold and the hunter, chapter 3**

There will be a while before I post the next chapter, because of all this uni stuff that just keeps coming and coming -_-  
In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and give me looots of reviews to keep my motivation alive!

* * *

The fake plumber jumped to his feet and had his hand on the weapon at his hip in no time. The muzzle of a large, mean-looking gun was pointed towards him equally fast.

''Relax,'' the other man said calmly, coming closer, ''this baby punches holes big as a fist and I need you to answer some questions before you walk the suicide road.''

Perhaps the torturer had overestimated his own rapidity at drawing his gun, or maybe he had trusted the newcomer not to shoot him as he wanted answers to his questions. The deafening sound of a firearm going off ratteled the metal sheets of the walls against their iron supports and the wild scream that followed almost pierced Gina's eardrums.

''My arm... you shot off my arm!''

Gina forced her chin up so she could see what happened a few yards in front of her. Her vision was so blurry that she hardly saw the newcomer, who still stood outside the light's reach, but she saw the man with the blue overalls just fine. Her captor had fallen to his knees, clutching the ragged remains of his right arm with his left hand. His voice wheezed in his throat when he breathed and desperately tried to keep himself from screaming in pain and horror at the sight of the lifeless, bloody lump of flesh and bone on the floor before him.

Gina blinked twice, trying to get a better look at the other man as he stepped into the light, simply walking past the plumber and towards her. His face was hidden behind a bright red helmet that shut his features away from the world. She found herself wishing his face hadn't been covered, she liked to see people's faces - it made it a lot easier to predict what they were going to do to you.

She had hoped that Dick would be the one to come for her, but this man was not her boyfriend. Still, there was something familiar about him, although she was sure never having seen him before. No, the familiarity was rather in his build and movements. He was about two inches taller than Dick, a little broader and heavier perhaps, and his movements spoke of a more brutal and dangerous character. But the underlying grace, the fluidity with which he moved was undeniably similar to Dick's.

''You bastard!'' The plumber roared in anger and shock. ''You shot off my arm!''

The one with the scarlet helmet turned to him and shrugged:

''I warned you.''

''This time, you're dead!''

The plumber dove to pick his pistol up from where it had dropped with his left hand, but the muzzle of the other's gun was on him anew before he could touch it.

''Leave it. You better not pull any more stunts, because I'm pretty sure you'll run out of limbs before I run out of bullets.''

Judging from the coldness in his remarkably steady voice, there was no doubt about him being serious.

''In fact,'' he said, holstering the gun and rejoining the other in two long strides, ''I'd like it better if you took a nap until you're needed.''

A heavy leather boot slammed hatefully into the fake plumber's face before he even thought about raising his only arm left in protection. Gina was pretty sure she'd heard her tormentor's nose and possibly a couple of teeth crack under the force of the kick, but he was currently in no shape to evaluate the damage.

The Red Hood removed the mans jacket and turned back to her. The young woman was surprised to feel as calm as she did when he came towards her again, a knife in his gloved hand. Kneeling in front of her, he cut the many layers of tape that kept her glued to the chair, but held up a hand when she tried to use her last strength to stand.

''Stay seated.'' He ordered. ''If you stand, you'll send more blood down to the gashes on your thighs, and trust me, you haven't got much blood left to lose.''

She was tired, so damn tired. Unable to speak or make the slightest sound, she fought to keep her eyes open but felt her body becoming heavier by the second. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was her savior ripping the plumber's jacket into strips to bind her wounds.

* * *

The young man finished bandaging the poor girl's most critical wounds. He stood up, fished up a cell phone from one of the many pockets of his dark grey trousers and held it out in front of him.

_No signal detected._

_Wonderful._

Casting one eye at the fake plumber and judging that the guy wasn't going anywhere, he brought the phone outside, hoping to get a signal there. He was in luck.

During his quick call, he heard the crashing of glass being smashed nearby but ignored it until he was sure that an ambulance was being dispatched to pick up the girl, although he doubted that there was any hope for her. He pocketed the phone again and returned inside, using the same entrance that he'd brutalized fifteen minutes earlier.

He froze. In front of the unconscious girl stood a black and blue shape, its back to him, hands gripping the armrests of the chair hard enough to make the wood creak. As soon as the shape heard his footsteps, it turned to him. Facing the Red Hood was Nightwing, his face pale, jaw clenched in fury and eyes narrowed behind the white lenses of his black domino mask.

''About fuckin' time you got your ass here,'' the younger began, resuming his walk so pieces of glass crunched under the soles of his knee-high combat boots, ''if I hadn't been in the area, that bastard would've...''

He stopped again, eyes fixed upon the empty floor space to Nightwing's right. Said bastard had vanished, along with every proof of him ever being there, except for the pool of blood that had leaked from his severed arm and a line of red splatter leading all the way to the door on the left, through which he obviously had escaped.

_Crap._

He knew he should've kicked the guy twice as hard.

''What bastard?'' Nightwing asked, his voice colder and more threatening than the Red Hood had ever heard it before. ''There's no one here other than her, you and me, Jason.''

Nightwing's body was tense, as if ready to attack, his hands balled into tight fists at his sides. Indignant over the underlying accusation, the Red Hood walked up to him, pointing a finger at Gina:

''What? You're implying that _I_ did this to your girlfriend? Listen well, jerkoff, I...''

He didn't finish. Blinded by rage, Nightwing had unleashed a brutal puch to the side of his head. Any normal man delivering such a blow against the helmet of the Red Hood would have broken every bone in his hand and wrist, but Nightwing was no normal man. The reinforced knuckles of his black and blue kevlar gloves allowed him to ram his hand into almost anything without taking any damage himself.

The padding in the Red Hood's head gear was not thick enough to protect its owner from the helmet's inside crashing against his temple so violently, although it usually protected him from most blows and punches. Nightwing's fist hitting this particular area of his head knocked him down on the floor, where he remained, motionless. The older vigilante had put a lot more force behind the punch than he normally did, but then again, Dick couldn't care less.

When he had arrived through the roof window of the warehouse, he had not known what to expect. All he knew was that Gina had been taken from her apartment, and that some stupid goons picking fights had prevented him from coming sooner. What he had seen when landing on the concrete floor had filled him with dread and seemed so impossible that he still hardly believed it. His girlfriend had been bled almost empty, her life seeping out through deep gashes everywhere on her body along with her blood. Her largest wounds had been bound with coarse first aid, preventing her from bleeding out completely and keeping her alive so she could be toyed with even further.

Then he had heard steps behind him and had turned around to find himself face to face with the Red Hood. In that moment, every piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. His last encounter with the younger vigilante had been far from pleasant, he remembered it as if it was yesterday. He had been awfully close to losing his life trying to keep the madman from taking over the cowl of the Bat and destroying everything Batman stood for. There had been no need for Batman to follow Bruce into his grave, but with Jason taking the mantle, he would have. A new vigilante would have risen in his place, one that looked like Batman on the outside but cast aside every rule and principle that made Batman unique, one that was scarcely better than the ones he hunted.

Luckily, Bruce was back and Dick had been free to become Nightwing once again, gladly shrugging the heavy mantle off his shoulders. But he'd always known that Jason was a problem that would have to be dealt with sooner or later.

Shaking with rage, he looked down at the younger man's body with disgust. Dick had known that his 'brother' was far gone, that his limits were almost non-existent, that his methods were unacceptable and that Jason would want payback after their last fight. But he had never imagined that Jason would go as far as kidnapping his girlfriend and torture her to get back at him.

''Babs...'' he said into the communicator fastened to the collar of his suit,'' I need an ambulance, and fast.''

''I don't have to call you one,'' Oracle's voice answered immediately, ''looks like there already is one on its way to you.''

Without asking himself who had called that ambulance, Nightwing grabbed the Red Hood's arm and dragged him over the floor to one of the concrete columns supporting the roof.

''But I called the cops.'' Barbara said.

''Thanks. Over and out.''

He didn't wait for Oracle's reply before turning off the communicator. Taking a plastic strip, Nightwing propped Jason back up against the column and tied his hands behind it, not even caring if it was too tight and bit into the skin of the man's wrists.

The wailing of a siren could be heard in the distance. Dick rushed to Gina's immobile body and picked her up in his arms. Carrying her outside as fast as possible, he could not avoid noticing that her body felt alarmingly cold. She seemed to be regaining consciousness though, and as they reached the empty doorway the ambulance parked in front of the warehouse, tires screeching as it skidded and stopped.

Gina's shaking hands tugged at the front of Nightwing's kevlar suit. Her lips moved without a sound and her eyes opened just enough to look into the white lenses of his domino mask as she struggled to push words forward.

''Th...''

''Shhh, don't talk.'' He whispered, finding his heart heavy in his chest.

The medics were rushing out of the ambulance, but she wasn't giving up. Clinging harder to him, she managed to stutter:

''Thank th-the... thank the helmet g-guy...''

A medic was by Nightwing's side just as she drew her final breath.

''...for... s-saving me...''

* * *

The siren of the ambulance faded rapidly. Nightwing was back on the inside of the warehouse, feeling like the weight of the world suddenly had been dropped on his shoulders. He took a last look at the place before the cops arrived to take the Red Hood with them, and everything was at it was supposed to be.

Except for Jason not being there anymore. At the foot of the concrete column lay the plastic strip, cut open by a sharp blade. Irritated by having been too lost in his own rage to even think about checking Jason's gloves for tools, he picked it up.

On the other side of the thin iron walls, the engine of a motorcycle roared to life.


End file.
